Jan 20th

2010 Horizon Report & Open Content

By jmurray@clsd.k12.pa.us
The 2010 Horizon Report written in collaboration with The New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative reinforces the concepts that many educational leaders have been discussing. Devices are more portable now than they ever have been. Access to information is growing increasingly easier to obtain along with the ability to author to the web. The exponential growth of self-authoring media has exploded and everyone wants an audience. The Internet provides the most efficient method of distributing a person’s work.
 
The 2010 Horizon Report written in collaboration with The New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative reinforces the concepts that many educational leaders have been discussing. Devices are more portable now than they ever have been. Access to information is growing increasingly easier to obtain along with the ability to author to the web. The exponential growth of self-authoring media has exploded and everyone wants an audience. The Internet provides the most efficient method of distributing a person’s work.
 
One of the most explosive trends involves “people expecting to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want.” We now have the technology to place all the information in the world at our finger tips. For instance, Kindle offers an excellent medium to give readers easy access to a library of books anywhere and anytime. Moreover, the Kindle app allows your library to follow you on your laptop, netbook, tablet, or smart phone. People now have the capability of learning/reading on the bus or subway to school/work, while waiting at the doctor’s office, or relaxing at home. The technology potentially has no limits. Yet, let’s not forget iTunes U, all the Tubes, and Netflix. We can also view and listen to literature, documentaries, videos, and movies on any of our devices at any time.
Another common trend is “the work of students is increasingly seen as collaborative by nature...” and why not. When we go to work we collaborate with our colleagues. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know everything. I can’t be an expert in everything. I rely on the people I work with for help or at least direction to where I can research the information that I don’t know. Students should work together to build knowledge and discover content relationships. Moreover, “… there is more cross campus collaboration between departments.” I feel in some aspects that we need to throw down the barriers of segregating departments. When a student is working on a physics problem, they may need calculus to solve it. Most students struggle to put two and two together, because the content realms have been segregated their whole lives. It is very difficult for students to see how math relates to science which could also relate to English and so on. More collaboration is required for our students to make breakthroughs. We don’t work like that and the world doesn’t work like that, so why should we learn in this manner. We (teachers and professors) should throw aside our pride and work together more for the benefit of our students and our future. Let’s face it, the “…role of the academy and the way prepare students for their future lives is changing.”
 
With academy changing, our conceptual ideas and technologies must adapt to the shift.  One of the most promising technologies evolving for education involves open content. I’m really excited to unlock the potential to this particular technology. With the current economic state and the cost of textbooks, I really foresee schools and universities moving towards open content. I realize the challenges with validity and reliability on open content. We will have to overcome these challenges with creative solutions. Open content allows professors and teachers to customize their lessons, based on selecting pieces of open content for the students to read. Authors, educators and innovators are currently producing legitimate open content that can be shared among us. Several universities, like MIT, open their content up to others in response to the rise in educational costs. In essence, someone who could not afford college could still learn the material. Smarthistory.com, Open Michigan content, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Looking for Whitman are just a few of thousands of successful open content projects just waiting for students and educators to take advantage of it. What I am trying to say is we need to take advantage of open content now, and I highly encourage everyone to investigate this unknown treasure.
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Jan 5th

Futuristic Thoughts about Interfaces

By jmurray@clsd.k12.pa.us
The videos spark great excitement and expectation for the future, but I don’t totally agree that the sensing technology will come on every “computer.” Don’t get me wrong, I realize that it is already here. The Wii started a revolution where sensing technology could become available and useable for the average user. The Kinect for the xBox 360 improves upon the sensing technology and it will only get better. The gaming and entertainment industry has jumped on board fully with the sensing technology, but the corporate workplace is still trying to define the appropriate use for the sensing technology.

Apple introduced the iPod Touch and then the iPad to provide some practical use in the workplace that involves sensing technology. Eventually, I see schools and businesses moving away from what we picture as a computer (desktop, laptop, etc) and moving towards another distinctive hardware device to encompass the full potential of sensing technology. In the immediate future, I can see a shift to some type of a tablet or slate device. In the far future, I see computers disappearing all together and employees wearing a uniform or business attire that has the computing device already built into it. The clothing computer could network with others, provide visual displays, utilize sensing technology, and much more.

 

Some may think that I’m crazy with my idea of wearing a computing device, but in a small form it is already happening.

A sweatshirt with a built in iPod.

http://surfbang.com/clothing/2010/07/rusty-wired-series-hoodies-and-jackets-redux.html

 

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Jan 5th

Futuristic Videos

By jmurray@clsd.k12.pa.us

Videos

· Next 5000 Days of the Web

· 6th Sense

 

In the Next 5000 Days of the Web, Kevin Kelly describes “the cornucopia of stuff, just coming over, never ending …” excites the technological minded person; however, for the non-technologically minded, it’s scary. The primary reason that the fluidly changing technology is scary for a non-technical person is standardization is missing from the picture. With just seconds of searching, one can find thousands of web 2.0 tools with various interfaces and all with different commands to do similar functions.

In the Sixth Sense Projection Technology Demo video, the interface is standard. The user wears the sensors on his fingers and controls everything (Newspaper, book, pictures, phone call, etc.) through the same standard series of finger movements. Apple has mastered standardization in revolutional technology interfaces. The iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad provide excellent examples of popular forward thinking devices that all generations and ability levels can use. After a few minutes with any of these devices, even the most novice of users can master the controls or at least feel comfortable navigating through the screens. In addition, Apple allows users to take ownership of the product as they can customize their device with apps and even program apps to submit to apple for these devices.

Kevin Kelly is right about the exponential growth occurring on the web; however, only certain sites and web tools will last. Look at the leaders such as Google and Microsoft. Google has packaged popular web 2.0 tools into an easy to manage bundle requiring only one username and password. The Google interface for all its web tools follow simplistic standards yet provide forward thinking sophisticated web tools. The Google search, email, docs, maps, iGoogle, calendar, reader, shopping blogging, etc. provide a web tool for just about every need at one location with an easy to use interface. Likewise Microsoft is trying to compete with its live@edu bundle, providing email, search, virtual desktop, sky drive, etc. at another location with the Microsoft standards.

With the common trend of creating content and sharing content, the emerging devices and software will advocate for a more natural user-friendly interface that will allow users to communicate on multiple levels. Not only will users be able to communicate more easily on multiple levels, but they will also be able to connect softwares together under one account and send out blasts of updates through multiple means. Eventually softwares will melt into one, and a user will either be able to think or say something to the device/software that will be able to communicate the message to a network of friends via phone, text, email, facebook, linked in, twitter, etc. simultaneously.

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